In Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged businesspeople are portrayed as moral heroes by virtue of their enterprising vision and productivity. To help students identify their own purpose and pursue it with joyful conviction, ARI and STRIVE are co-hosting the Leven Foundation student conference on “The Morality of Value Creation and Trade.” Here, students will connect with professionals around the philosophy and business principles behind their success, informed by the ideas of Ayn Rand.

Several ARI intellectuals will be speaking at the conference. Yaron Brook is going to give a talk on the morality of value creation and trade; Keith Lockitch and Onkar Ghate will explore Ayn Rand’s view that capitalism is the only moral social system; Don Watkins will discuss how the critics of inequality are promoting ideas that undermine success; Steve Simpson will explain how entrepreneurship is under attack from both antitrust laws and campaign finance reform.

Among the keynote speakers you will also find Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fuel Fossils and founder and executive director of the Center of Industrial Progress. Alex will discuss how to identify the meaningful and differentiated value each individual has to offer in his talk, “Your Personal Value Proposition: Figuring Out What YOU Have to Trade.”

Be sure to encourage any students you know to register for the conference, which will be held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center on November 6-8 in Atlanta, GA. Scholarships are available to cover travel and lodging, and the $50.00 registration fee will be reimbursed following attendance!